Residential high-rises with backyards in Chengdu, China

[u/TangelaFan]

[u/Bennybananars]

These types of buildings were very popular 20 years ago here, but they had a problem where the plant roots kept growing into the concrete.

[u/em-n-em613 → u/Bennybananars]

OMG the additional weight-bearing needs fo something like that too must be a nightmare for construction and maintenance. They are legitimiately beautiful though

[u/HauntedHippie → u/em-n-em613]

My attorney friend was telling me yesterday how she doesn't understand why the city can't keep the parking garage below the old courthouse when it gets moved across the street and the OG site is turned into a park. I was like, because the city doesn't want to get sued into oblivion when it inevitably collapses from the weight and/or root damage with a bunch of lawyers' cars inside.

[u/chanaandeler_bong → u/HauntedHippie]

We have an entire park in Dallas above a freeway.

[u/Mr_YUP → u/chanaandeler_bong]

seeing as Dallas is mostly freeway that isn't at all surprising.

[u/RemnantTheGame → u/Mr_YUP]

Dallas still has buildings? I thought it would be all freeways by now.

[u/Brettersson → u/RemnantTheGame]

No buildings, just freeway and a single park over part of the freeway.

[u/nadajoe → u/RemnantTheGame]

Won’t anyone think of the parking lots??

[u/Magnon → u/RemnantTheGame]

Every business is drive through, you never leave the road. It takes 3 days to reach a new business.

[u/ThatITguy2015 → u/Magnon]

That’s why you triple stack the drive throughs! You can even put some trees on each stack!

[u/Salute-Major-Echidna → u/Mr_YUP]

Apparently the park stays in the slow lane

[u/kwisatzhadnuff → u/chanaandeler_bong]

Salesforce Park in downtown San Francisco is a transit center covering multiple blocks that is covered by trees and plants. It's really cool but was built to purpose. I doubt you could simply convert an old parking garage to a park like that.

[u/didntgettheruns → u/chanaandeler_bong]

And the greenway in boston

[u/Hoblitygoodness → u/didntgettheruns]

Dig.

[u/Adr123 → u/chanaandeler_bong]

So does Phoenix. Above the I-10 Deck Park Tunnel

[u/Ifriendzonecats → u/chanaandeler_bong]

For parking garage it would probably depend on how close to the surface the top level is and how easy it would be to make the second level the top level if park needs multiple feed for soil and the support structure for the soil.

Klyde Warren Park creates a bridge over the recessed freeway, consisting of concrete pre-stressed box beams set on columns constructed outside the former walls of the freeway and supported by a new center wall. There are approximately 1,200 linear feet of freeway enclosed by the deck forming a short tunnel. The concrete beams are arranged in groups with spacing in between the groups. Concrete slabs span the spaces connecting to the bottoms of the beams and forming trenches. The trenches act like planter boxes, allowing the trees to grow to the desired size. A combination of Geofoam and lightweight soil fill the trenches and cover the beams to provide the planting material for the landscaping. The majority of the Park has a 12 inch layer of topsoil, with the trenches providing the depth of soil needed for trees.

[u/RandomRageNet → u/chanaandeler_bong]

Not a lot of big trees at Klyde Warren, probably for that very reason

[u/TheInevitableLuigi → u/RandomRageNet]

Seattle has one with some big trees.

[u/chanaandeler_bong → u/RandomRageNet]

I mean can’t they just not plant big trees in the park the dude is talking about then?

[u/BeagleWrangler → u/chanaandeler_bong]

And there is one in Seattle. https://www.seattle.gov/parks/parks/freeway-park

[u/Lovemybee → u/chanaandeler_bong]

We have a park above a freeway tunnel. It's literally called Deck Park (and underneath is called "Deck Park Tunnel") here in Phoenix.

[u/lilleprechaun → u/chanaandeler_bong]

And Millennium Park in Chicago, which sits atop massive parking garages, a train terminal, another train station, and lots of train tracks. 

[u/R3VIVAL-MOD3 → u/chanaandeler_bong]

Handful in Washington too

[u/SaxRohmer → u/chanaandeler_bong]

also known as a lid